


Acacias, Daisies and Forget-Me-Nots

by Diamond_Raven



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Blind Date, Canon Era, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers, Jealous Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), M/M, Marriage Deadline, Prince Merlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:00:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25224268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diamond_Raven/pseuds/Diamond_Raven
Summary: With Prince Merlin’s 22nd birthday rapidly approaching, he needs to find a husband soon or lose Camelot’s throne. As a Knight of the Court and Merlin’s long time friend, Arthur takes it upon himself to help Merlin find a suitable husband. The fact that he’s in love with Merlin is irrelevant. Or at least, that’s what Arthur tells himself.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 116
Kudos: 561





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MarvelMakesMeFeelThings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarvelMakesMeFeelThings/gifts).



> I want to thank MarvelMakesMeFeelThings for shoving this plot bunny into my lap and then helping me with brainstorming and coming up with the title. This one wouldn't exist without you!

Arthur’s breathing hard and covered in sweat as he braces himself to deliver the final blow to the straw filled dummy when a voice pipes up from behind him.

“Well, it’s final. Mother says there’s nothing to be done, and I have to be married in four months or we’ll lose the throne.”

His swing goes completely wide, he nearly loses his grip on his sword and almost falls flat on his face. It’s not the words that are shocking, but rather, his heart. It’s reminding Arthur how much he hates this whole topic, and he can’t possibly concentrate on his fighting skills when this mess is looming in the background.

Gasping for breath, he recovers from the embarrassing blunder and hopes nobody noticed. It seems that Merlin definitely didn’t notice because he’s wandering over to another straw filled dummy and leaning against it, his lips pursed with annoyance.

Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Arthur glances at him. His heart aches at seeing how upset Merlin is about the whole thing and Arthur’s upset about it too—for various reasons—and he really doesn’t want to keep talking about this, but he’s Merlin’s best friend and that’s a role he’s always taken more seriously than anything else.

Yanking his gloves off, Arthur looks up and motions for his squire to come over and get his armour off. “So, Her Majesty’s petition to the council was rejected?”

Merlin snorts. “They barely even read it, they just told mother the same thing they’ve been saying since the day I was born: the law’s the law and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

His squire scampers up to him and takes Arthur’s sword in exchange for a water jug, before helping to undo the many straps of Arthur’s armour. Arthur gratefully chugs the water and pours some of it over his head to relieve the summer heat that’s pounding down from above. “At least you tried,” he mumbles.

“Yeah, for all the good it’s doing!” Merlin’s glaring at the ground. “I don’t want to marry some random person.”

Arthur’s heart sinks, as it does anytime he’s reminded that very soon, the man he’s secretly in love with will marry somebody else. The fact that Merlin’s unhappy about it makes the entire situation worse. The only other option is to give up the throne and let Lord Agravaine and his wife swoop in and take over.

Merlin sighs loudly. “I wish my uncle weren’t such a horrid prat. Then, at least, I’d consider giving him the throne. I honestly wouldn’t mind just being on the council and not having to deal with the rest of it.”

Arthur’s squire’s eyes widen comically at Merlin’s coarse language, and Arthur struggles not to smile as he shrugs out of his chain mail. But once he’s handed off the heavy chain mail, he’s left staring at Merlin’s unhappy frown and that sucks the humour out of the situation. “Unfortunately, that’s not an option.”

Merlin makes a face. “No.”

“Is Geoffrey still looking for a loophole?”

“Yes, but he’s only doing it because he feels sorry for me. You can tell he doesn’t have any faith that he’ll find anything. The rules are very clear. A Queen Regent can only rule until the heir is 22 years of age. It’s ridiculous. When I’m King, I’m going to change it. None of this Regent business. Whoever’s in charge is in charge.”

Arthur presses his lips together. “You’ll need to be King to change it and you can’t—”

“I can’t become King until I’m married, yes, thank you, Sir Arthur Pendragon. Without you here, stating the obvious, I don’t know how the rest of us would survive.” Then Merlin squeezes his eyes shut. “I’m sorry, that was rude.”

Sighing, Arthur scrubs his hands through his hair and walks over to Merlin and slings his arm over his shoulders. “Come on. Let’s go find something to distract us. Do you want to go riding?”

Merlin shakes his head. “No. I have a council meeting in two hours, so I shouldn’t wander off too far.”

“Then let’s go to your room, and we’ll play chess, and I’ll get us an enormous plate of cheese and grapes.”

Again, Merlin shakes his head. “Mordred’s still cleaning my room, and I think my grumpiness scared him. You know how he gets. I apologized, but I think it’s best if I steer clear until he’s done.”

“Do you want to visit Gaius and see if he has anything interesting to share? You said he’d gone plant hunting a few days ago.”

“His back hurt, and he didn’t end up going.”

Merlin’s being a lot grumpier than normal, but Arthur refuses to give up. “Then we’ll go the library. Maybe Geoffrey got those new books we’ve been waiting for. If not, we’ll pick an old favourite and find a nice place to read. We can go up on the battlements or sit in my room. Wherever you want.”

Sighing softly, Merlin turns his head to stare at Arthur. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. Seriously.”

Arthur keeps his smile soft while his heart twinges. “You’ll never have to find out, I promise.” Tugging on Merlin, Arthur starts walking across the practice field towards the castle. “Come on, let’s go read. And I promise, I won’t mention the word marriage. If it comes up when it’s my turn to read, I’ll switch the word to something else.”

That finally makes Merlin laugh, and he wraps his arm around Arthur’s waist as they walk. “The sacrifices you make for the Crown will be remembered forever.”

“They better. I expect sonnets and songs. Perhaps a portrait or two.”

Merlin’s responding laugh is even brighter, and Arthur’s smiling too as his heart cheers up right alongside Merlin.

* * *

Unfortunately, distracting Merlin isn’t going to solve the problem. As much as Arthur’s heart wants to keep dragging things out, his brain constantly reminds him that’s not a good option. Time is rapidly passing, and Lord Agravaine is probably already re-decorating the castle in his head and imagining how his coronation ceremony will go. If they wait too much longer, Merlin will either have to give up the throne for good or marry whatever random nobleman is available at the last minute.

Arthur waits until he and Merlin are out in the woods one afternoon, collecting plants for Gaius. Merlin’s happily running around, letting out excited shouts whenever he finds a particular plant that he finds appealing for some reason or another while Arthur keeps a careful eye on their surroundings and occasionally lets himself get swept up by Merlin’s excitement.

When daylight starts fading and they’re walking back to the castle, Arthur waits until Merlin’s finished talking about how thrilled he is that they found a big bundle of some plant thing that’s apparently a rare find.

“I still can’t believe we found nearly a pound of it! I’ve never seen so much of it in one place. We’ll have to check on that spot regularly from now on. I left enough roots behind that there should be a good regrowth.”

“We will, don’t worry. I marked the location on the map. But Merlin?”

“Yes?”

Arthur sighs softly. “I think you have to start taking this marriage business more seriously.”

Instantly, the smile disappears from Merlin’s face and he glares at Arthur. “You think I’m not?! I can barely sleep!”

“Yes, but worrying about it isn’t actually moving things forward. You have to spend more time meeting people and trying to find somebody suitable.”

“You think I’m not trying?! I’ve lost count of how many feasts we’ve had in the last month. I’m fairly certain the kitchen staff are going to collapse from exhaustion.”

Arthur’s heart desperately wants to change the subject and go back to talking about Merlin’s beloved plants, but that won’t help them in the long term. “What about trying smaller events? We can find some candidates and arrange a private dinner between the two of you. That means you can focus on the suitor and it won’t be so much work for everyone.”

Merlin makes an unhappy sound and he doesn’t respond for a while as they wander up the well-trodden path leading up to the castle’s back entrance. Finally, he sighs loudly. “Fine.”

That’s as good of an answer as Arthur’s going to get, so he doesn’t push things further.

* * *

True to his word, Merlin seems to have accepted that Arthur was right and doing small meetings is an efficient way of doing things.

Geoffrey provides them with information about potential suitors and Arthur spends a few days sitting at Merlin’s table with him, going over the details of each nobleman and helping him decide if he wants to meet with him or not. It hurts a lot, but Arthur wants Merlin to be happy so finding him a good husband is what he needs to do.

Once they narrow the list down to a few choices, Merlin gives Arthur permission to get things moving and set up private dinners.

As he’s rolling up the scrolls covering the table, Arthur shoots Merlin a look. “And you promise you’ll be on your best behaviour, right?”

Merlin rolls his eyes but pastes a pleasant smile on his face. “I’ll be the most gracious host, most polite prince and best person I can possible be.”

Arthur raises his eyebrows at him. “I thought you agreed you weren’t going to torture these people?”

That makes Merlin laugh and he grabs a quill off the table and throws it at Arthur.

Easily catching it, Arthur stuffs it into the pile of scrolls in his arms, then he gives Merlin a long look. “But seriously, be yourself. There’s no point in putting on airs and pretences. You want to judge how you’re getting on with this person because there’s a chance you’ll be together for the rest of your lives.”

Saying that makes Arthur’s heart squeeze again, but he ignores it.

Merlin sighs softly, but he’s nodding and looking serious. “I understand what’s at stake, believe me.”

* * *

As soon as Arthur opens the door to admit Merlin’s first suitor into the dining hall, he can instantly tell that this won’t go well. The man sweeps right past Arthur and hurries towards Merlin, talking as if he’s got a quota to fill. He grasps Merlin’s hands and gives him a ridiculously low bow, rambling about how thrilled he is to be meeting ‘Camelot Royalty’.

“It’s an honour, sire! Such an honour! I couldn’t believe it when I received the invite. I think I told everyone around me, not just once but twice!”

Merlin laughs politely as Arthur watches him struggling to extricate his hand from the man’s never-ending handshake. “The honour’s mine, Sir Owen.” Waving his hand at the dining table, Merlin slowly walks towards it. “Please, come sit down.”

Sir Owen’s staring around, looking as excited about being in the dining hall as Merlin does when he’s found a rare plant. “Oh, I can’t believe the beauty of the castle! The history! The richness!” He hurries up to the table and practically swoons. “The furniture! Obviously, we have riches at our own residence, but to be in a royal dining hall!”

“Yes, it’s a wonderful dining hall. Very...functional.”

“Yes! Oh, and these chairs! My great-grandfather bought the most beautiful set of chairs from Mercia and they’ve been in our family ever since.”

Mordred has stepped up to pull Merlin’s chair back for him, and he sits down. Arthur can tell his smile is already strained. “Do tell.”

And those turn out to the wrong words to say because it becomes clear very quickly that Sir Owen does nothing but tell. And tell and tell and tell.

He prattles on and on about whatever topic enters his head and he doesn’t seem to notice or care that Merlin can rarely get a word in. Merlin keeps that strained, polite smile on his face while Mordred lays out their meals and drinks.

Arthur stands in the corner, keeping a watchful eye on them as he struggles not to fall asleep from the constant droning of Sir Owen’s voice. It sounds like a rushing river, but not nearly as soothing.

Finally, it seems that Merlin believes he’s been polite for long enough because he clears his throat. “I’m finding the chicken a bit dry. What about you, Sir Owen?”

While Sir Owen goes off on a loud discussion about how much he loves the chicken and listing every chicken dish he’s ever eaten, Arthur reaches behind himself and knocks on the wooden set of drawers he’s standing in front of. Hopefully, Sir Owen won’t be able to tell the sound didn’t come from the dining hall’s door, but he doesn’t seem to be paying attention to anything except the sound of his own voice.

While Sir Owen is veering off into a discussion that seems to encompass every chicken dish that’s ever been invented, Arthur strides off to the dining hall doors and discreetly pulls a folded note out of his jacket as he goes. Once he reaches the door, he opens it a crack and makes a big show out of pretending to accept the note from the air. Then he’s hurrying back towards Merlin with a frown on his face. He stops next to his chair. “Sire? An urgent message from Her Majesty.”

Merlin takes the note and opens it, skimming over the summons that Arthur had written on it when they’d come up with this plan. Merlin puts a frown of mild alarm on his face and stands up from the table. “I’m terribly sorry about this, Sir Owen, but it appears my mother requires my assistance immediately.”

Sir Owen had scrambled to stand up when Merlin had, and his eyes widen with excitement. “Oh! Queen Hunith?”

“Yes. I’m apologize for having to cut our dinner short, but I really must attend to her immediately.”

“Is there any possibility of having an audience with her?”

Merlin blinks at him and his smile is now more strained than Arthur’s ever seen it. “I’m afraid right now is not an appropriate time.”

“Of course. Perhaps later.”

“Perhaps. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

Merlin hurries out of the dining hall and Arthur is forced to stay with Sir Owen until he’s finished his dinner, but he seems a lot less interested in talking when it’s only Arthur and Mordred watching him. Then Arthur finally escorts the man out of the castle and hopefully out of their lives forever.

When Arthur enters Merlin’s room, Merlin’s sprawled out on his bed. “I don’t want to talk about it. I’m actually not in the mood to hear any human speak ever again.”

A part of Arthur wants to laugh, but another part of him hates everything about this. He hates that Sir Owen had looked good enough on parchment for him and Merlin to have considered him an actual viable option. Now, Arthur’s worrying over how many others on their list aren’t worthy of Merlin’s time, never mind becoming his husband.

His mood does cheer up a bit when he grabs the quill and draws a vicious line through Sir Owen’s name on their list of suitors. Then he takes off his sword belt and climbs onto the bed, making himself comfortable next to Merlin. Reaching over to the bedside table, Arthur picks up a book Merlin’s been reading and flips it open to the bookmarked page and starts reading out loud.

* * *

Arthur nearly forgets protocol when he opens the dining hall door and is greeted by an overweight man who’s easily three times his age. He manages to stumble through asking the man’s name and title, which sadly confirms that this is indeed the suitor they had invited.

Merlin’s clearly having the same difficulties, but Arthur can tell he’s also annoyed.

Fiddling with his wine goblet, Merlin directs a strained smile at the man as they’re making their way through dinner. “So the information I was provided with stated that you enjoy horseback riding.”

Arthur notes that Merlin’s being polite enough not to point out that the man’s information had also stated that he was in his early 30s, which is also an obvious lie.

The man waves a dismissive hand, while clutching a chicken leg. “Absolutely, but that was in my youth.”

“Which...is quite far behind you.”

“With age comes wisdom, Sire.”

Merlin’s smile seems to be carved in stone. “I’m sure.” He puts down his wine goblet and glances at his chicken. “I’m finding the chicken a bit dry.”

And Arthur’s heading for the door, pulling the fake note out of his jacket as he goes.

That night, it’s Merlin who strikes off the man’s name from their list and they end up going for a walk together because they’re both too annoyed to concentrate on anything else.

* * *

“I’d be very interested in re-annexing Mercia.”

Arthur struggles not to frown too obviously, and Merlin’s wine goblet freezes in mid-air for a moment before he finishes bringing it to his lips for a sip. Once he’s put the goblet down, he fixes the new suitor with a hard stare. “Camelot has a very good trade relationship with Mercia. Annexing them would lead to war and hardship for both sides and to what end?”

“More territory, Sire.”

“More territory comes with more people to take care of and more lands to protect. We’re already benefiting from Mercia’s mining resources through our trade agreements.”

The man seems undeterred and his eyes are still glinting with a blood lust that Arthur often sees in the eyes of men during battle. It’s never good to encounter a man who can’t turn that off once he’s off the battlefield. As far as Arthur’s concerned, the man’s already proven he’s undeserving of being in Merlin’s company for much longer, never mind being his husband.

“A King who doesn’t strive to capture more territory will be seen as weak, Sire.”

Merlin shoots him a strained smile. “That’s your opinion.”

The man’s jaw clenches. “Yes. Obviously, it’s not one we share.”

“No.”

They eat in silence and Arthur’s doing his best to stay impassive and not openly glare at the man.

Then Merlin seems to make a concentrated effort to give things another go and he directs a polite smile at the man. “What are your hobbies?”

“Studying military tactics.”

Merlin’s eyes light up a bit. “You enjoy reading?”

“Yes. And you, Sire?”

“Oh, I’ve always loved reading. I enjoy reading all types of topics, but my personal favourites are fictional stories and botany texts.”

The man’s lips curl with disdain and Arthur gets a bad feeling in his gut. “Botany? What kind of a King spends his days reading about plants?”

Merlin blinks, clearly taken aback by the negative response. “Botany is a very complex and fascinating topic. The medicinal aspects alone are extremely important, never mind the other applications.”

The man scoffs. “And what of the fictional stories? What important applications do they serve?”

Anger is coiling in Arthur’s gut and his hand clenches on the pommel of his sword.

“They entertain me, and I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

“It’s a childish pursuit that’s not fit for a future King of Camelot.”

There’s a stunned silence and Arthur’s anger is boiling over. He takes off for the door, tugging the note out of his pocket. He’s forgotten to do the fake knocking, but he doesn’t care. He wants this rude bully to get away from Merlin as soon as possible.

“Sir Arthur?”

Arthur freezes and turns around. “Yes, Sire?”

“Please escort my guest out of the castle. Our dinner is finished.”

The man snorts and opens his mouth to say something else, but Merlin cuts him off as he stands up and glares at him. “You will not say another word in my presence, and you will leave the premises at once.”

When the man frowns and seems to be gearing up to argue, Arthur pulls his sword out and steps around the table so he’s shielding Merlin from the man. Arthur’s careful not to lift his sword or step too close to the man so he can’t be accused of starting anything, but the message is clear.

The man’s glaring at both of them. “This is outrageous!”

Neither Arthur nor Merlin respond, but the man slams his fists on the table and stands up, storming towards the door with Arthur following behind.

Once Arthur’s ensured that the man’s off the castle grounds, he slides his sword back into his scabbard and hurries up to Merlin’s bedroom. Merlin’s not there and it takes some frantic running around and checking all the places Merlin could have gone until Arthur finds him. He’s up on the battlements, leaning against the cold stone and staring at the courtyard far below.

Arthur walks up to him and sling a comforting arm around his shoulder as Merlin sighs.

“It would be dejecting enough if these are my only options and I end up not finding anybody,” Merlin says. “But the situation’s even worse because I don’t have a choice. I have to pick somebody.”

Arthur squeezes his shoulder. “We’ll keep looking, alright? You’re not going to marry an awful person. I won’t let it happen.”

Merlin snorts but leans closer to him, which makes Arthur’s heart pound harder. “There’s nothing you can do about it and you know it.”

“If necessary, I’ll kill Lord Agravaine and his wife and the rest of the council, one by one until there’s nobody left who can legally take the throne from your mother and you can take your time finding the right person to marry.”

“You’d have to kill every nobleman in Camelot, including yourself.”

“Then that’s what I’ll do. But you’re not marrying somebody awful and that’s final.”

Smiling, Merlin gently knocks his head against Arthur’s. “Thank you.”

Arthur rubs Merlin’s arm. “You’re welcome.”

* * *

Arthur and Merlin are both tense during the next dinner meeting, but delaying won’t help anything. But Arthur’s pleasantly surprised when he opens the dining hall door and is greeted by an attractive, young man who looks to be their age and is smiling politely. “Sir Vincent?”

The man nods. “Yes. Here to see Prince Merlin.”

Arthur opens the door to admit him and leads him over to Merlin. As they’re walking, Arthur raises his eyebrows at Merlin, hoping to communicate that he thinks Vincent’s alright so far.

And as it turns out, Vincent doesn’t only start out alright, but he continues being alright. He greets Merlin with the proper respect, his manners are impeccable and once he and Merlin are eating, they start talking about their hobbies and Arthur learns that apparently, Vincent didn’t lie to Geoffrey.

He loves reading. He loves horseback riding. He’s also a keen botanist and he and Merlin spend ages discussing different types of plants, their uses and all the newest research that has been done. When Merlin eagerly tells him about the special plant that he and Arthur had found in the woods a few weeks ago, Vincent’s eyes light up.

“Oh, what a phenomenal find! I’d love to see it for myself.”

And Merlin’s just glowing as he grins at him. “You’ll have to join me sometime soon and I’ll show you personally.”

Vincent smiles back, his smile soft and sweet. “I’d be honoured, Sire.”

“Please, call me Merlin.”

Bowing his head, Vincent keeps smiling. “As you wish.”

Then the conversation veers off into discussing recent books they’ve read, and it turns out that Vincent’s read a lot of the same books that Merlin and Arthur had. Merlin and Vincent are barely touching their dinners because they’re so busy talking and smiling at each other…

….and Arthur’s a seething ball of jealousy. He’s actually struggling not to cry, which is ridiculous. He keeps hoping that Vincent will say something that will make Merlin think less of him, but every word out of Vincent’s mouth is perfect. Every look and smile he directs at Merlin are perfect. It’s not fake, it’s not over the top and the longer it continues, the more Arthur’s heart sinks because he realizes what he’s looking at.

He’s looking at Merlin’s future husband.


	2. Chapter 2

A week later, Arthur’s barely seen Merlin because he’s spending every spare moment with Vincent and also because Arthur’s deliberately avoiding them both. At first, he didn’t like the idea of letting another knight accompany Vincent and Merlin whenever they ventured out of the castle together, but the intense jealousy that would roil in his gut and make his hands clench on his sword proved to be such a distraction that Arthur makes the wise decision of assigning another knight to go with them.

Whenever Arthur does spend time with Merlin, all Merlin can talk about is Vincent. What Vincent said and did and thinks about anything and everything. The pattern of Merlin and Vincent having practically everything in common continues.

“Arthur, you’ll never guess! Vincent mentioned he adores cheese and grapes as much as I do. Can you believe it? I’m going to prepare a platter for his next visit. He’ll be so pleased.”

“Arthur, it’s the funniest thing! Vincent got his first horse when he was six years old as well and she was a mare too. Mother gave me Excalibur when I was six years old, you remember? Isn’t it just a fantastic coincidence?”

When Merlin actually turns down Arthur’s offer to read together one afternoon because he’s planning on reading with Vincent, Arthur nearly bursts into tears and ends up making excuses and hurrying off. Merlin doesn’t seem to notice.

On one hand, Arthur’s so jealous that he’s in physical pain but on the other, he knows he can’t interfere. This is what he’d wanted. This is exactly what he and Merlin had been hoping for. Merlin has to get married in just over two months and Arthur had been plagued by nightmares of Merlin being forced to marry somebody awful. Vincent is a dream come true and Arthur has to do everything in his power to make sure things stay on track.

That means firmly keeping his feelings in check and keeping a smile on his face and only letting himself cry in the middle of the night when he’s alone in bed and nobody else’s life will be destroyed due to his broken heart.

* * *

Unfortunately, Arthur’s best efforts at staying in control fall apart during the annual harvest festival which takes place three weeks later.

Not only does Arthur have to sit at a table that has a clear view of the head table where Vincent’s sitting next to Merlin, but Arthur has an entire jug of wine in front of him. The longer Arthur spends staring at Vincent smiling at Merlin, hearing Merlin’s wonderful, fully genuine laugh anytime Vincent says something funny, or seeing that besotted glow in Merlin’s eyes as he stares at Vincent, the more upset Arthur gets.

As his jealousy spirals higher and his heart aches, he drowns his sorrows in one goblet of wine after another. The drunker he gets, the angrier he gets. He’s not sure if it’s the effect of the alcohol or if he’s angry at Vincent, Merlin or himself. But in any case, he starts snapping at anybody who accidentally bumps into him and yelling at the servants when they don’t refill the wine jug fast enough. Then Sir Leon has the audacity of leaning across the table, frowning at him and firmly telling him that Arthur’s had enough, and he should go to bed.

That’s when Arthur’s temper snaps and he yells back that he gets to decide when he’s had enough to drink, and Leon should mind his own business. Leon rolls his eyes and that’s when Arthur punches him in the face. The punch makes Leon reel back with a shout as he clutches his nose and Arthur stumbles back over the bench he’d been standing in front of and falls to the stone floor.

From there, things become very hazy. He’s staring at the slowly moving grey stones, then he’s lifted up and being dragged somewhere. The movement makes him feel queasy and he closes his eyes, not caring where he’s being brought. It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters because Merlin’s going to marry Vincent and be perfectly happy with him, and Arthur will have to spend the rest of his life pretending to be happy for Merlin.

He’s laid down on a soft surface which he thinks might be his bed. There are hands on him, before a familiar voice interrupts.

“No, it’s fine, just leave him. I’ll take care of it. Tell Leon to go see Gaius about his nose.”

That’s Merlin’s voice. Arthur’s heart aches at the thought of Merlin being here because being around Merlin these days means pain instead of happiness. Arthur doesn’t like that because it didn’t used to be that way.

Hands are taking his clothes off and pulling the covers over him. Somebody sighs softly but Merlin doesn’t say anything else before he’s blowing out the candle and shutting the door, leaving Arthur alone.

* * *

The next morning, Arthur’s feeling awful for multiple reasons but the first thing he does after getting himself washed and dressed is drag himself up to see Merlin. He’ll have to go see Queen Hunith and Leon too, but he wants to start with Merlin.

He can’t believe he’d let things get so out of control last night that he’d actually punched Leon. The details are very hazy, but he remembers the punch and lots of yelling. There’s no doubt he’d made an awful scene in front of the entire Court and that’s unforgivable.

After knocking on Merlin’s door and getting permission to enter, he goes in and quietly shuts the door behind him.

Merlin’s sitting on a chair by the table and he stares at Arthur with an unreadable expression on his face. It’s clear that Merlin’s annoyed and won’t take it easy on him so Arthur will have to make the first move. Clenching his jaw as shame crawls through him, Arthur walks over and gets down on one knee, respectfully bowing his head. “My behaviour last night was unforgivable, My Lord. I extend my deepest apologies to you and the Court and I assure you it will never happen again.”

Merlin’s silent for a while as annoyance radiates off him, but he finally sighs. “Please get off the floor and stop with the Lord nonsense.”

Arthur’s shame is making his cheeks burn and he can’t bear the thought of looking at Merlin, so he stays where he is.

Finally, Merlin sighs even more loudly and slides off his chair and sits on the floor. He bends his head and tries to catch Arthur’s gaze, but Arthur keeps avoiding his eyes.

“What’s gotten into you lately?” Merlin asks quietly. “Ever since Vincent’s arrived, you’ve been acting strange. I thought you’d be thrilled that I’m getting on so well with Vincent. It’s what we’ve been hoping for, isn’t it?”

“I _am_ thrilled,” Arthur says, but his tone is flat, and he knows Merlin will catch it.

“Well, you could have fooled me. I know I’ve been spending a lot of time with Vincent, but that’s the point, isn’t it? You don’t seem happy about how things are going, and you’ve been avoiding me.”

“I apologize, Sire.”

Merlin lets out an annoyed sigh. “I don’t want your apologies, Arthur! I want to know why you’re acting so strangely. Not to mention what happened last night! You haven’t indulged like that since that time when we snuck into the wine cellar. That was fine and funny when we were fourteen, but you didn’t even seem like you were enjoying yourself last night.”

A part of Arthur wants to retort that he’s impressed Merlin noticed because as far as Arthur could tell, Merlin had spent the entire evening with his eyes glued to Vincent. But that would be a horrible thing to say and Arthur won’t betray his friend and future king by being unkind and rude. “My behaviour was inexcusable, and I promise that it won’t happen again.”

“That’s not—Arthur, I want to know what’s upsetting you! Why won’t you talk to me?!”

Arthur squeezes his eyes shut. He hates that he’s hurting Merlin but the alternative would be even worse. If he tells Merlin how he truly feels, Merlin will no doubt be kind to him but it’ll lead to a permanent strain in their relationship and Arthur can’t bear that. “I promise my behaviour will improve, Sire.”

There’s silence for a while longer as Merlin keeps staring at him. Arthur stays where he is because standing up while Merlin’s still sitting on the floor would be breaking protocol. Normally, such things don’t matter between them but Arthur’s realizing that his and Merlin’s relationship will have to undergo enormous changes, and he might as well start now.

Eventually, Merlin lets out an annoyed sound and gets off the floor and walks out of his door, slamming the door shut behind him.

* * *

Thankfully, Arthur’s conversations with Leon and the Queen go much better than with Merlin.

Leon forgives him and after Arthur promises to buy him a few rounds down at the pub on their next day off, Leon makes it clear that he thinks that’ll make them even, and he’ll move past what happened.

Queen Hunith decides that Arthur’s punishment will be two weeks of night duty. She credits his perfect work record as being a reason for her leniency, along with his apologies and her belief that he won’t do anything like that again.

Being on night duty is annoying because Arthur’s body can never adjust to sleeping and eating during the day and being awake all night, but it’s what he deserves. Another added benefit is that he can easily avoid Merlin and Vincent. He often hears others mentioning that Merlin and Vincent spent the day together and it always, _always_ hurts but Arthur hopes that pain will fade with time.

Night duty is boring, and Arthur has to constantly walk around so he doesn’t fall asleep where he’s standing. He entertains himself by making different routes and walking through areas that the night guards usually don’t spend much time in, and that’s what brings him to the stables one night.

It’s after midnight and the barn is quiet as he wanders over the bits of straw covering the stone floor. The horses are asleep, and the only disturbance is a random soft snort from one of them.

But then he hears another sound and it’s not a horse. It’s a man’s voice and it’s coming from outside the barn. Frowning, Arthur wraps his hand around the hilt of his sword as adrenaline floods him. He’s about to march out of the barn and confront the individuals, when he recognizes the voice.

It’s Lord Agravaine, and he’s not alone.

He’s speaking to another person... and that person is Vincent.

Frowning, Arthur freezes where he is and listens more intently because it makes no sense that Merlin’s uncle would be speaking to Vincent in the middle of the night and behind the stables of all places. As far as Arthur knows, Agravaine doesn’t even know Vincent.

But on the other hand, Agravaine has to know that Vincent’s become Merlin’s suitor and it’s practically set in stone that he’ll marry Merlin. Once that happens, Merlin’s grip on Camelot’s throne will be assured and Agravaine can rant and rave about it all he wants, but he won’t become Camelot’s next monarch. Arthur’s stomach clenches when he realizes that maybe Agravaine means to hurt Vincent or maybe even kill him to prevent Merlin’s marriage from going through.

While Arthur hates Vincent with every fibre of his being, his love for Merlin and Camelot instantly drive him to draw his sword and rush out of the barn to confront them and save Vincent.

But as he’s about to round the corner of the barn, Vincent’s loud voice carries over and he sounds incredibly annoyed. “—doing enough! I’ve already read the book you told me to, and I’ve memorized enough plant bollocks that the idiot believes the act, but no, I’m not going to read three others just to keep up with what’s new in the world of bloody plants!”

Arthur freezes right before coming around the corner, frowning. What on earth is going on?! Vincent sounds annoyed, not scared, so it doesn’t seem that Agravaine’s threatening him. Arthur’s body had been ready for a fight and it takes a while for him to process what Vincent had said.

In the meantime, an equally annoyed Agravaine responds. “Don’t you dare treat me with such disrespect! If it weren’t for me, you’d still be part of that travelling group of talentless cretins, shouting poetry at people for a scrap of bread. I’m paying you more money for this job than you’ve seen in your entire life.”

“And don’t you dare act like I need you to keep barging in and telling me how to do this job! It would be obvious to a blind and deaf man that I’m doing what you’re paying me to do! The idiot’s completely besotted with me.”

“Maybe he’s besotted but there hasn’t been a marriage proposal!”

“There doesn’t _need_ to be, you idiot! I’m going to keep him distracted until the deadline comes, with or without a marriage proposal.”

“If you get overly confident and stop putting in adequate effort, his eyes might start wandering and everything will fall apart.”

There’s an ugly, harsh laugh from Vincent. “Oh, don’t worry about that. I’m keeping his eyes focused on me and when I leave him, he’ll be so shattered that I guarantee he won’t be able to pull off a last minute miracle and find somebody else to marry before the deadline passes.”

“You’re absolutely certain things are on track?”

“Of course! Don’t worry, old man. Just relax and let me keep doing my job. You’ll have your throne and I’ll have the rest of my pay and we’ll both be happy men.”

Everything shifts and Arthur finally understands what’s going on. Rage simmers through him and his jaw clenches as he marches around the corner, his sword drawn. Vincent’s back is to him but Agravaine sees Arthur instantly and his eyes widen comically. “Sir Arthur! What brings you here?”

Arthur has reached Vincent and he delivers a vicious kick to the back of his knees and the man lets out a surprised and pained shout as he collapses to his knees. This cretin, this lowlife, this filth had manipulated Merlin. The whole thing had been a farce. Merlin had been so happy. Maybe Merlin’s even in love with him and this disgusting creature had taken all of Merlin’s kindness and love and used it for his own gain, all while lying to him.

Tightening his grip on his sword, Arthur channels all of his rage and uses the pommel to deliver a vicious blow to the back of Vincent’s head, sending him crumbling to the ground in an unconscious heap.

Agravaine’s pulled his sword out and it looks like he’s not sure if he’s going to fight or run, but Arthur slowly walks towards him, pointing the tip of his sword right at his heart. “Go ahead, My Lord. Run or fight. Either way, it’ll be my excuse to kill you and believe me, I’ll do it. I’ll slice you open from throat to navel and you know that’ll be a slow, painful death,” he snarls.

It’s clear Agravaine’s attempting to glare but he looks terrified. He raises his chin. “How dare you speak to me like this? I’ll have your head!”

“I’ve uncovered your plan to steal the throne from your own family, My Lord. It’s not my head you should be worried about.”

The older man’s nose flares and he lifts his sword and that’s the invitation Arthur needs. He uses his sword to smack Agravaine’s out of his grip and the sword goes flying and hits the barn. Agravaine lets out a panicked shout and takes a hasty step backwards. Arthur lifts his sword, so the tip is pressing into the soft flesh of the man’s throat and he walks forward, forcing the tip to pierce the skin. Agravaine stumbles backwards as a small trickle of blood runs down his throat and he keeps stepping back until he bumps into the wall of the barn.

Still shaking with rage at the man’s betrayal of his family, Arthur presses his sword a bit harder into his throat. This selfish idiot had been prepared to betray both his sister and his nephew due to his hunger for power, and Arthur wishes he could slide his sword right through him, but he’ll need to keep both of them alive so they’ll confess. There might be other players involved, and Arthur thinks it’ll feel a lot more satisfying knowing both men are rotting in prison rather than giving them a quicker death by his sword.

The sharp press of Arthur’s sword piercing the skin of his neck makes Agravaine let out a pained whimper as he falls to his knees.

“Lie down on your front and put your hands behind your head,” Arthur snarls, pulling his sword back.

The man’s shaking as he does as Arthur commanded. Once he’s on the ground, Arthur stands between his shaking body and Vincent’s unconscious one. He lets out a series of sharp whistles to alert the other night guards that he needs assistance.

While he waits, he keeps the tip of his sword pressed against the back of Agravaine’s neck and keeps a close eye on Vincent so he can kick him back to unconsciousness when he stirs.

To Arthur’s delight, Vincent _does_ stir before the rest of his comrades show up, which means Arthur takes special care to deliver several kicks to very sensitive parts of Vincent and making him cry before he sends him back under.

* * *

After arresting Agravaine and Vincent and locking them into the dungeons, Arthur makes the decision not to alert Merlin or the Queen before dawn. Arthur’s not looking forward to Merlin finding out the truth. The Queen will feel betrayed and she’ll be hurt on Merlin’s behalf as well, but Arthur’s especially worried about Merlin.

As far as Arthur knows, Vincent was the first man who had shown obvious interest in Merlin and Vincent hadn’t been wrong when he’d bragged about Merlin being besotted by him. Now, Merlin will have to deal with the knowledge that it had all been a lie.

* * *

Informing Merlin goes as badly as Arthur had feared. Arthur requests an emergency audience with both Queen Hunith and Merlin and they both look worried when they appear in the large hall and take their places at the round table. Arthur wastes no time on pleasantries. The faster he tells Merlin the truth, the faster Merlin can start healing and put this behind him. Arthur will do whatever it takes to help him recover and that includes telling him as quickly as possible.

Merlin and the Queen are understandably confused at first and Arthur has to repeat the conversation he’d overheard several times. Merlin gets quieter the longer Arthur speaks and by the end, he’s sitting there pale and silent and Arthur has to dig his hands into his thighs because he wants to wrap his arms around him and comfort him so badly. As for the Queen, she refuses to believe that Arthur had interpreted the conversation correctly.

“I’m not accusing you of lying, Sir Arthur,” the Queen says. “But I find this hard to believe. My brother’s intentions towards the throne have been known for years, but to go to such lengths...I’m sure you misunderstood what you heard.”

Queen Hunith’s reluctance to believe the lengths her brother had gone to in order to take the throne isn’t the only difficulty they encounter. Neither Vincent nor Agravaine are willing to confess to what Arthur had overheard, and Agravaine’s position in the Court means the Queen wants to have solid evidence before charging him with anything.

Arthur immediately suggests going to see Geoffrey, who had collected the information about Vincent and given it to Merlin and Arthur when they’d been putting together a list of potential suitors. As Arthur, Merlin, the Queen, and Geoffrey are pouring over records, it quickly becomes apparent that Vincent’s records had been falsified. His name isn’t listed as part of any nobility line and there’s no record of his existence in Camelot.

Once they add the nobility impersonation charge and explain to Vincent how much prison time he’s facing, he suddenly becomes willing to confess, if that charge is removed. As everyone is gathered in the hall again, Queen Hunith gives the order to bring Vincent up from the cells and Arthur’s eyes immediately flick over to Merlin.

The whole way through their investigation, Merlin had been pale and silent. He hadn’t said a word when they’d confirmed that Vincent is not a nobleman, but Arthur had seen the stubborn twist of his jaw, which meant that Merlin was still being his kind, wonderful self and clinging to one last bit of hope. No doubt, Merlin was hoping that this had been a massive misunderstanding and Vincent might not be of noble descent but he’d lied for a good reason and that reason hadn’t involved wanting to manipulate Merlin for pay.

But now as he’s sitting at the round table, his jaw is clenched, and his eyes are bright with unshed tears. Arthur stands up and walks to his side, not caring that whispering to Merlin is a rude thing to do in front of the Queen. Bending down, he whispers into Merlin’s ear: “I know his type and you shouldn’t be here for this. He’ll be gloating when he sees that you’re in pain. He’ll deliberately say things to be cruel and hurt you even further.”

“I need to hear him confess,” Merlin whispers, his voice shaking. “Otherwise, I don’t know if I can convince myself that it was all a lie.”

“Then we’ll listen from the side chamber.”

Merlin thinks it over for a moment, before he’s nodding and glancing at his mother. “I’m going to listen from the chamber.”

The Queen’s eyes soften with anguish and she reaches out and pulls Merlin into a hug. “It’ll be alright. Even if what Sir Arthur said is true, it’ll be alright.”

Merlin draws in a shaky breath and pulls back from her with difficulty before following Arthur into the small hidden chamber located within the walls. Everybody knows of their location, but the air slits in the door are discreet enough that nobody inside the large room can tell if somebody’s inside the chamber or not.

Arthur doesn’t even think twice before stepping in with Merlin and shutting the door. The chamber is tiny and they’re nearly touching as they stand toe to toe. Arthur can feel Merlin’s panicked, warm breathing on his face and he squints through the faint light drifting through the air slits to find Merlin’s shaking hands and squeeze them. “Like your mother said, it’ll be alright,” Arthur whispers. “If we confirm the farce, then Vincent and Agravaine will pay and you’ll be alright because I’m going to make sure you’re alright.”

Merlin’s jaw is clenched, and he doesn’t reply, but he squeezes Arthur’s hands tightly as they wait.

Vincent doesn’t waste any time once he’s brought in. He carefully inspects a document where Queen Hunith confirms that the nobility impersonation charge will be dropped in exchange for his confession and providing evidence against Agravaine. Then he starts talking.

He goes through the entire story in a flat, monotonous voice, as if he’s bored of the entire situation. He describes how Agravaine had approached him when his travelling theatre group had come through Camelot and offered him the job. Agravaine had put together lots of information about Merlin’s likes and dislikes and, after creating false papers for Vincent, it was easy enough for Agravaine to slip Vincent’s information to Geoffrey, who passed it onto Merlin and Arthur. Of course, Agravaine knew exactly what to write down so Merlin would be drawn to Vincent’s application and agree to meet with him. From there, Vincent used his acting skills and information he got from Agravaine to manipulate Merlin into believing Vincent had genuine feelings for him.

The rest of the story matches exactly what Arthur had overheard. Vincent sounds utterly unapologetic when admitting that he was going to leave Merlin broken hearted right before their wedding, happily collect his money from Agravaine and go off to have a good life. From the sound of his voice, it’s clear that he probably wouldn’t have ever thought of Merlin again, never mind the anguish he’d leave him in.

But the pain that Vincent’s plan would have left Merlin in is nothing compared to what Merlin’s going through now. His breathing picks up speed the longer Vincent speaks, and Merlin squeezes his eyes shut, but tears still trickle through and roll down his face.

Arthur clenches his jaw, his own heart breaking at Merlin’s pain and he’s struggling to hold his own tears back as they listen to Vincent’s casual voice on the other side of the door. Releasing Merlin’s hands, Arthur wraps his hands around Merlin’s face and brushes his tears away with his thumbs and presses their foreheads together. “I’m sorry,” Arthur whispers.

He wants to say more, like how Vincent didn’t deserve Merlin, how glad Arthur is that he’d uncovered the plot so Merlin wouldn’t spend even more time being used by Vincent, but none of that would help Merlin right now. Instead, Merlin clings to Arthur’s shirt and lets out a choked sob and Arthur pulls him into his arms and squeezes him tightly.

Merlin buries his face into Arthur’s neck and sobs quietly as he clings to the back of Arthur’s shirt.

They stay there for a long time. Long after Vincent’s voice stops and even after the other voices in the hall disappear. Eventually, Merlin manages to stop crying but he keeps one hand tangled in Arthur’s shirt as Arthur gets them out of the chamber and keeps an arm around Merlin’s waist as he brings them to Merlin’s room.

Once they’re there, Arthur helps Merlin into bed and sends Mordred off. “I’ll take care of the Prince tonight.”

Merlin starts crying again when he’s in bed and Arthur doesn’t hesitate before taking off his boots and sword and crawling into bed with him and pulling Merlin into his arms. Arthur quietly rubs Merlin’s back and holds him tight, letting him cry against him as he blinks his own tears back.

“He had no right to your heart,” Arthur whispers. “I’m so sorry, Merlin.”


	3. Chapter 3

It takes a week until Merlin’s capable of saying more than a few words at a time, and it’s another week after that before Arthur manages to make him smile a bit. Arthur had gone to the Queen to beg her for permission to switch him back to dayshifts for the time being so he can support Merlin and she had agreed before he’d even finished speaking. He’s fully intending to finish his punishment at a later date, but nothing’s more important right now than being there for Merlin. They’re back to spending every spare second together and Arthur often falls asleep in Merlin’s bed after they spend the evening reading to each other or talking about whatever topic comes to them.

Two weeks after Vincent’s confession and a week after Agravaine and Vincent’s trails, which ended with both men receiving prison sentences, Merlin’s lying with his head on Arthur’s chest and staring at the flickering candle on the bedside table.

“I don’t think I loved him. I think I was just happy to have found somebody who I had so much in common with. After all those other awful men, Vincent was perfect.”

Arthur rubs Merlin’s back. “He was perfect because he was putting on an act.”

“I know. But I think that’s why I was so hurt. Not necessarily because I lost him, but because he was my only good option and now it turns out, I never had any good options.”

That abruptly reminds Arthur that they only have a bit more than a month before the stupid deadline. Even though Agravaine is no longer eligible to take the throne, the law is the law and another nobleman from the council will get the honour of becoming king if Merlin’s not married in time. There’s already a lot of arguing and debating going on because nobody had anticipated that neither Agravaine nor Merlin might take the throne.

Until now, Arthur’s ignored all the chatter and focused on Merlin. The fact that Merlin’s talking about Vincent without bursting into tears is good progress, as is the fact that Arthur had managed to convince him to go out plant hunting and Arthur had deliberately taken them to that spot where that special plant had grown and to both their delight, the plant had regrown very well and Merlin was able to bring home a large quantity.

As always, Arthur didn’t much care for the plants, but he was happy that Merlin was finally happy and Arthur’s heart was bursting with joy the entire time he was digging around in the dirt and helping Merlin collect his plants.

But now that things are slowly returning to normal, they’ll need to refocus their attention on the looming deadline. That stupid law doesn’t care that Merlin’s life had experienced an enormous upheaval. The law only cares about Merlin’s age and his 22nd birthday will be here within a month, whether they like it or not.

* * *

Based on how their efforts to find Merlin a husband had gone so far, Arthur is determined to find a better approach. But he also has to find a fast approach because time is of the essence. Arthur doesn’t want to rely on Geoffrey being the sole provider of suitors again—because that hadn’t gone well last time—so he takes matters into his own hands and starts paying careful attention around the Court, studying the various nobleman and looking up their lineage and talking to their friends and family about them before he asks them if they’d be interested in courting Merlin. He collects as much information as he can, and he carefully records everything so he can give everything to Merlin once he has enough suitors.

But as Arthur’s sitting at his table in his room, carefully transcribing a list of a random nobleman’s hobbies from the bits of parchment Arthur had scribbled them on to a more presentable and cohesive document, Arthur suddenly stops.

It dawns on him that most of these noblemen are no more qualified to be Merlin’s husband than Arthur is.

In fact, some of them are even less qualified. Their lineage isn’t as impressive as Arthur’s. Their time in court is shorter. Not as many of their hobbies match up with Merlin’s.

Slowly, Arthur lowers his quill and leans back in his chair. What had started as a random, niggling thought in the back of his head quickly spirals into an enormous, stunning realization.

Why can’t Arthur be one of Merlin’s suitors? Why have neither of them ever considered that Arthur’s a perfectly viable option? Not only does he have more in common with Merlin than most of these men, but he knows Merlin better and he’s more loyal to him and Camelot than all of them combined. More importantly, Arthur loves Merlin and none of these other suitors can say the same.

All signs are pointing towards Arthur being not only a good candidate but the best candidate of the bunch. In fact, he should apply! He should have applied from the start!

But one small thought holds him back:

Merlin knows all of Arthur’s qualifications and yet, he’s never brought up the possibility of wanting to marry Arthur. So, there’s a chance that Merlin doesn’t want Arthur as a husband, even if he cherishes their friendship. Should Arthur bother applying?

He goes back and forth about it all night and barely sleeps a wink, but he ends up coming to a conclusion. What’s the harm in applying? What’s the worst that could happen? If Merlin rejects him, it might lead to an awkward conversation, but Arthur can make things better by being understanding and moving past it. While being outright rejected will hurt, he’ll get over it. But if he doesn’t apply, he’ll have no chance at all of being chosen.

With his mind made up, Arthur gets up and sits at his table in his night gown and reaches for a clean sheet of parchment. Pushing aside the scrolls of completed application from other suitors, Arthur grabs his quill and carefully starts crafting his own application.

It’s quite stressful and Arthur’s glad his guard shift doesn’t start until the afternoon. He ends up missing morning fight practice, but Arthur thinks this is the most important document he’ll ever write, so he wants to take his time and get it perfect.

At the end, he reads it over several times to make sure he captured everything. His full name, a small family tree to describe his genealogy, his occupation, how long he’s served the court and how long he’s known Merlin.

Then he lists his hobbies. He’s very careful not to over exaggerate anything and he’s honest when he lists some hobbies which he knows Merlin doesn’t enjoy, such as hunting, sword fighting and participating in tournaments. But he also lists the hobbies he and Merlin do have in common. Remembering the lengths Vincent had gone to in order to lie to Merlin about being a botany lover, Arthur makes a special note:

‘ _The suitor is not keen on botany but he’s very keen on making His Highness happy and the suitor enjoys learning about botany when His Highness is instructing him.’_

He rounds things out by emphasizing his loyalty and devotion to Merlin, the Court and Camelot. Then he puts the final fact, which will hopefully push his application above all others:

‘ _The suitor has been in love with His Highness for many years and if he is chosen, the suitor promises to continue loving and cherishing His Highness for the rest of their lives.’_

When he’s finished writing the last line, Arthur carefully scrutinizes the entire document. His competitive nature has taken over and he’s determined to make his application not only stand out above the rest, but to make the other applications seem pathetic in comparison.

Chewing on his lip, Arthur mulls over what else he can add. While the last few lines that detail his feelings for Merlin sound good, Arthur fears that maybe Merlin won’t believe it. Merlin will be extra sensitive to anything that might appear to be a lie, so Arthur needs to do something to convince him that the words are true.

And after staring around his room, his eyes catch on a book sitting on his windowsill, and that’s when he gets the perfect idea.

It requires getting dressed—because rushing through the castle in his nightgown isn’t proper—but once he’s gotten changed, he’s hurrying out the door and through the corridors towards the library. He knows exactly where the botany section is so he waves off Geoffrey’s offers of help and hurries to the right section. Once there, he skims over the book titles until he’s found the one he wants.

_The Secret Language of Flowers: A Hundred Flowers and Their Meanings_

It’s a book he and Merlin have used for reference a lot, especially when they were younger. After finishing with a book that they’d both really enjoyed, they would look through this book and find all the flowers that represented the characters. Sometimes they’d even get into ridiculous arguments when they disagreed over whether a certain flower applied to a character or not.

Arthur’s used the book enough that he’s fairly certain he knows which flowers he needs, but he wants to double check their meaning because getting it wrong would be disastrous. Once he’s confirmed that the three flower’s he’s thinking of are the correct ones, he’s putting the book back on the shelf and looking for another familiar book that Merlin is even more fond of. It features beautiful sketches of various flowers and plants and once Arthur’s found it, he pulls it out and hurries out of the library, shouting over at Geoffrey that he’s taking the book for a few hours.

When he’s back in his room, Arthur sits down and flips through the book until he’s found the first flower he needs. Then he grabs his quill, dips it into ink... and his hand freezes when he’s poised above his suitor application.

He’s never drawn anything before. It’s always Merlin who makes small sketches of plants that he wants to identify when they’re home. As is Merlin’s way, he refuses to pull a living thing out of the ground unless it’ll serve an important enough purpose. If that policy weren’t near and dear to Merlin’s heart, Arthur would run outside and pick the flowers, but Merlin wouldn’t like that. So drawing is Arthur’s only option if he wants to add this very special touch to his application.

And once he reminds himself that he’s doing this because he wants to become Merlin’s husband and that means making his application perfect, his nerves climb even higher and he grabs some spare bits of parchment so he can practice. He draws each flower several times, constantly checking the textbook for reference until he’s feeling brave enough to draw the flowers right on his application. His stomach is clenched in a nervous knot, and he’s clutching the quill so hard that he’s worried he’ll snap it in half, but he pushes through and draws careful line after careful line, creating the three flowers.

The first one is a daisy with long, thin pedals and a speckled centre. It represents loyal love; the type of love that Arthur’s had for Merlin for a long time. That love encompasses how Arthur feels about Merlin and also his future king. It’s not just a declaration; it’s a promise.

The second flower is an acacia flower. The spherical looking flower consists of dozens of tiny, thin flowers and it’ll hopefully prove to Merlin that Arthur’s written words aren’t lies. The acacia flower represents secret love.

And lastly, Arthur draws a forget-me-not with wide, curved pedals. He likes the irony of including this one. Not only does it represent true love and thus, it helps make his point, but the literal name of the flower emphasizes that Arthur’s hoping Merlin will take his application seriously and acknowledge that Arthur’s a suitable option for him.

Once he’s done his drawings, Arthur frowns over each of them with a critical eye and makes tiny adjustments until they match the book as closely as he can manage. He can tell what each of the flowers are supposed to be... but he decides to be safe and carefully labels each of them. And because Merlin will appreciate it, Arthur writes their Latin names as well as the English versions.

When he’s done and the ink is drying, Arthur decides he’s done as much as he can. He has nothing more to add, and he’s ready to hand himself over to Merlin and leave the choice in his hands.

He’s feeling excited but also terribly nervous. He refuses to let himself believe that giving Merlin his application might destroy their friendship for good. No, it’ll either change nothing or change things in a positive way. Arthur won’t allow anything else to happen.

After checking that the ink is dry so his hard work won’t smudge, Arthur carefully writes his name on the edge of the parchment before rolling and tying it up. Then, it’s time to deliver all the applications to Merlin.

* * *

Merlin’s understandably confused and frowns at him suspiciously when Arthur shows up in his chambers and shoves the pile of scrolls into his arms.

“You were so insistent on checking over the last batch and after everything that happened, you’re not going to help?”

Arthur’s shaking a bit with nerves, but he gives Merlin a strained smile. “I prepared all them, not Geoffrey. I already approve of them.”

His frown deepening, Merlin narrows his eyes at Arthur. “You’re acting weird.”

“I... need to go to practice.”

“Practice ended half an hour ago. I know that because I wandered down there to watch you, but apparently, you had better things to do.”

Pressing his lips together, Arthur’s dying to blurt out his secret but if Merlin’s going to reject him, Arthur wants him to have time to collect his thoughts. Dealing with a nervous, stammering Merlin would make things a thousand times worse. “Can you please look them over and come speak to me when you’re read them all?”

“Why on earth can’t you just wait until I’ve read them so I don’t have to waste time going all the way to your chambers? It’s only going to take me a few minutes to read them.”

Briefly squeezing his eyes shut, Arthur shifts back and forth on the heels of his boots. “Please? Just read them and then come to my chambers.”

Merlin lets out an annoyed sigh. “Fine, be mysterious. But you better walk quickly because at the speed I read, I’ll probably end up getting to your chambers before you do.”

Shooting him a shaky smile, Arthur steps towards the door. “Thank you. I’ll be in my chambers.”

Rolling his eyes, Merlin drops the scrolls on the table and sits down. “Yes, you’ve made that clear.”

Then Arthur hastily retreats from Merlin’s room and hurries back to his own. Once he’s slammed his door shut, he paces around nervously, his stomach tied into knots and his hands shaking. He’s actually not that nervous about Merlin rejecting him. Not having his feelings for Merlin returned is something he’s accustomed to dealing with. Merlin will be kind about it, Arthur will be strong, and things will be alright.

But what if Merlin actually accepts?! What if Merlin actually agrees to marry Arthur?! What if Arthur will actually get the honour of marrying Merlin and spending the rest of his life with his best friend and the man he loves?!

The thought is so exciting and nerve-wracking that Arthur keeps shaking as he paces around, torn between hoping Merlin will show up soon or wishing for more time because he has no idea how he’ll deal with Merlin accepting his offer.

He’s so focused on his thoughts that the sudden opening of his door takes him by surprise, and he whirls around as Merlin marches inside and slams the door shut. He’s breathing hard, as if he’s run all the way here, he’s pale and his eyes are wide as he clutches a roll of parchment in his hand. There seem to be a dozen emotions flying over Merlin’s face, and Arthur can hardly breathe because he has no idea what Merlin’s going to say or do.

But out of all the things Arthur thought Merlin would say, he blurts out something Arthur hadn’t prepared for.

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” Merlin sounds anguished but also annoyed, and that makes Arthur’s heart pound because that question could be a good thing or a bad thing.

He hadn’t been expecting Merlin to confront him about that particular issue, so he’s left gaping at him for a few seconds until he manages to get some words out of his tight throat. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be interested.”

Merlin’s grip tightens on the scroll and he lets out a shaky laugh that sounds a bit hysterical as he briefly squeezes his eyes shut. When he opens them again, he’s staring at Arthur with wild eyes. “ _Interested?!_ I can’t believe you can’t—I always wanted it to be you!” he bursts out, sounding close to tears and he chokes out a strained laugh. “I always, _always_ wanted it to be you.” The words are a faint whisper.

Arthur blinks. None of this is going the way Arthur had thought it would and he’s having difficulty keeping up with Merlin’s quick mood changes. “I...what?”

Staring at Arthur and his eyes bright with unshed tears, Merlin puts the roll of parchment on the table and steps up to Arthur, putting gentle, shaking hands on Arthur’s face, his eyes shimmering and full of intensity. “The flowers? You used them to describe how you feel about me, but they also describe how I’ve felt about you for years. A true, loyal love that’s also a secret love.”

Arthur’s breath catches and he stares at Merlin. He’s still having difficulty keeping up, but his brain is slowly processing what Merlin’s saying.

Merlin’s in love with Arthur. He’s been in love with Arthur for a long time. But that can’t possibly be true! It’s not possible that Merlin’s kept his feelings hidden for so long. The man’s always been an awful liar and Arthur knows all of his tells.

Merlin’s jaw clenches and he frowns as he searches Arthur’s face. “You don’t believe me.” It’s not a question.

“I...”

Letting out that choked, anguished laugh again, Merlin presses his forehead against Arthur’s. “Why do you think I’ve been avoiding this marriage business for so long? From the time I was old enough to understand what marriage even is, I wanted to marry you. Even before this deadline issue came about. But when we started talking about it when we were teenagers, you never stepped forward. You never gave any sign that you’d ever be interested. So, I kept quiet, but I stayed hopeful and I kept pushing things off. And now that time’s nearly run out, you were so involved in finding me a good husband. You were supportive and helpful, and never once did you indicate that you’d want to be one of my suitors. It hurt but I told myself I had to move on and find somebody else.”

Arthur’s heart is racing, and a shiver runs through him as he starts to realize what’s happening. Arthur’s spent years pining after Merlin... and it turns out that Merlin’s been pining after Arthur for just as long. Breathing out a shaky laugh, Arthur reaches up and clutches Merlin’s hands that are pressing against his face. “Are you saying we’re both idiots?”

Merlin laughs, his breath warm on Arthur’s face. “Looks like it. But thankfully, you stopped being an idiot just in time. If it had been up to me, I’d probably end marrying one of the other suitors you’d recommended, and we’d both spend the rest of our lives being miserable while pretending we’re alright with how things are.”

A warm glow is spreading through Arthur. “You really love me?” he whispers.

“Yes,” Merlin whispers back. “Do you have any idea how often I’ve caught myself right as I was about to throw caution to the wind and tell you? I was certain I’d live to regret it because it would make you uncomfortable and probably ruin our friendship. I always restrained myself, but it got harder every year.” Then Merlin laughs. “Do you remember about a year ago, we were lying in the south meadow and the entire field was filled with daisies?”

Arthur smiles and his heart leaps because he remembers what Merlin had said that day. “Yes. You made a comment about the daisies and how much they mean to you.”

Merlin laughs and slides his hands down to rub Arthur’s sides. “And I kept staring at you. On the inside, I was terrified, but I was hoping you’d understand what I was trying to say.”

Laughing, Arthur winds his arms around Merlin’s waist and keeps their faces pressed together. “It flew right past me because I’d forgotten what daisies represent.”

“And you made such a fuss, asking if I wanted you to dig some of them out so we could re-plant them in the planters in my chambers. I was disappointed but also relieved. I convinced myself that maybe you’d understood what I was trying to say and you’d deliberately changed the subject to spare my feelings.”

Arthur sighs softly. “We’re both idiots.”

“Apparently. But thankfully, you wrestled your courage into place at practically the last second.”

That reminds Arthur that there’s a lot more at stake here than both of them marvelling over having missed each other’s feelings for several years. “Does this mean you’ll consider my application?” It’s a bit silly how nervous he gets when he asks, but it’s important.

Merlin pulls back a bit and gives him an unimpressed look. “Consider?! Arthur Pendragon, I thought we’d just finished saying that you’ve finally started using your brain. I was being very complimentary, and now you go and ask something ridiculous like that?!”

Arthur reels back too but keeps his arms wrapped around Merlin. “It’s not ridiculous, _Merlin._ It’s very important.”

Sighing with exasperation, Merlin’s lips twist into a smile and it’s clear he’s trying hard not to laugh. “I’m not just considering your application. I’ve accepted the application; we’ve spent years courting each other—even if we didn’t realize that’s what we were doing—and I’m now ready to marry you. Assuming that’s what you want too.”

Hearing those words makes a bright smile spread over Arthur’s face and he clutches Merlin’s shirt. “Of course I do!”

Merlin huffs out a laugh. “That’s good, because unfortunately, there’s a very strict deadline.”

Arthur laughs. “I’d marry you right here, right now.”

An equally bright smile is on Merlin’s face, but he’s searching Arthur’s face with a hint of worry in his eyes. “Are you absolutely sure you’re alright with all this?”

“Alright?! It’s all I’ve ever wanted!”

Merlin’s frown deepens. “You’ve never expressed any desire to become King Consort.”

Blinking, Arthur stares at him. That’s something he’s never thought about. He’s always wanted to marry Merlin because he loves him and Merlin’s wonderful. It hadn’t even occurred to him that the marriage would automatically slide him up the Court’s hierarchy, and he’d become part of Camelot’s monarchy. He’ll become King Arthur, King Merlin’s consort.

“Arthur... if this isn’t what you want, you have to tell me right now. I understand if it’s not, and believe me, it means so much to me that you clearly haven’t spent much time thinking about the title business. Every other person who wanted to marry me wanted the title first and foremost, and being married to me was a very distant secondary consideration. But I want you to be happy, and if being Royalty wouldn’t make you happy, then forget it.”

Those words instantly make Arthur shake his head. “Being married to you will make me happy. Besides, not too much will change, will it? I’ve always loved serving Camelot and serving whoever sits on Camelot’s throne and that’s not going to change. I’ll be serving my King just like I’ve always wanted to do, but I’ll be standing by your side as your Consort and husband instead of your Knight.”

That makes Merlin’s smile re-appear and he pulls Arthur closer as he winds his arms around his waist too. “Being married to you will make me happy too.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Merlin’s beaming at him and Arthur’s overwhelmed with joy.

“So, Sir Arthur Pendragon?”

“Hmm?”

“Will you marry me?”

The words make Arthur’s breath catch. He’s dreamed of this moment so many times, and now, it’s finally going to become reality. He doesn’t even have to think about it. “Yes. Yes, I will.”

Merlin’s smile grows even wider, and he reaches up to gently grasp Arthur’s chin before he’s pulling him in for a kiss.


End file.
